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Archive 2017 · Nikon 200-500 Just Not Sharp.

  
 
D5100 Dude
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Nikon 200-500 Just Not Sharp.


Mar 09, 2017 at 07:31 PM
SSISteve
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Nikon 200-500 Just Not Sharp.


Are these pictures cropped or full frame? For one they are underexposed and if you are shooting from 100 yards away and cropping I wouldn't expect a lot of sharpness.


Mar 09, 2017 at 07:46 PM
D5100 Dude
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Nikon 200-500 Just Not Sharp.


Hey thanks for the words of encouragement, one thing at a time.. Yes I know underexposed I haven't had time to do anything with them.


Mar 09, 2017 at 07:48 PM
Lauchlan Toal
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Nikon 200-500 Just Not Sharp.


Not sure if this helps, but here's a shot with a 100% crop that I got at 500mm f6.3 on the Nikon D610, with ISO 400 and 1/3200 shutter speed. In PhotoShop CC Adobe Camera Raw I applied 50 sharpening at radius 0.5, 25 detail, 0 masking, 0 luminance, 25 color, 50 color detail, and 50 color smoothness.





The EXIF says the distance was 56.2 - not sure if that's feet or meters, probably meters, but the subject size gives you an idea of the distance.

I find that getting the focus right is the main issue with far off birds in flight, but at the distance this shot was taken at and closer it consistently gives me shots I'm happy with. It's only when the subject's so far away that the shot's pretty pointless anyway that I really wonder if it's sharp. But our expectations, our camera, and our processing choices all make a huge difference, so hopefully the information and sample crop here shows what I'm getting from the lens and how, and lets you directly compare results.

EDIT: If you're using the D5100 as your username might suggest, that could be a factor. I have a D5200 that I brought along to shoot the eagles the same day I took the photo above, and ended up only taking about 10 shots before putting it away in favour of the D610. While I loved the extra reach the crop sensor gave me, I wasn't happy with the results. Perhaps due to the atmospheric softening being more visible or perhaps from the lack of AF adjust functionality, or perhaps both. I found the same thing when shooting the moon - the D610 gave me better images despite the D5200 putting more pixels on the subject. I still love the D5200 for using shorter lenses and photographing nearby things, and plenty of people are getting great shots with it (and I have no doubt that with a D5200 or D5100 you can get great shots), but personally I find it's a lot easier to get the shots I want with the D610. Maybe it's just me and a quirk of my kit or technique, but in my experience it is noticeably harder to get the best images from a D5x00 camera. Possible, definitely. But consistency could be more challenging.



Mar 09, 2017 at 09:10 PM
D5100 Dude
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Nikon 200-500 Just Not Sharp.


D500


Mar 09, 2017 at 10:17 PM
Lance B
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Nikon 200-500 Just Not Sharp.


Why such high shutter speed, high ISO and f11 is overkill. I think the high ISO is taking the edge off the photos a bit. Steady state bird flight at the moderate soaring speed of an eagle, I would be shooting 1/1250sec to 1/2500sec at most and using f8 at that distance.


Mar 09, 2017 at 10:21 PM
Lauchlan Toal
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Nikon 200-500 Just Not Sharp.


Ah, you should be good with the D500 then. Just noticed that you mentioned AF fine tuning in the first post, excellent.

Then yeah, as Lance said, look at the settings. Not sure what ISO you were at, but I'd try to stay at or below ISO 400 if possible, and between f5.6 and f8. Diffraction sets in earlier with the D500 than any Nikon full frame camera, so I'd say f6.3 or maybe f7.1 if lighting's good would be the sweet spot of balancing the exposure triangle.

Experiment with shutterspeed and VR - at 1/3200s I found I got marginally sharper results with VR off, but not that noticeable. Also, depending on what the eagles are doing and how the light is it might be beneficial to shoot at a high shutter speed and bump ISO up to 400-640, or you might find your shots are plenty sharp at 1/1250 and you can drop the ISO and get more benefits from that.

Still, it's always possible that the lens is a bit soft at some distances - but if you play around with it and hone in on the maximum sharpness it's capable of it'll be easier to figure out if it is good enough or if there's an issue.



Mar 10, 2017 at 12:03 AM
ifixfxs
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Nikon 200-500 Just Not Sharp.


As above, some of these lens copies are soft at only certain distances. The one I got from lensrental.com seemed OK initially but when tested at 500mm on a focus target was very soft (not front or back focused) at 65' but ok at far distance and 7'. ( I was testing it against the tamron 150-600 G2) I got a full refund and they sent the lens in for Nikon service. Test it on a focus target at critical distance and focal length.


Mar 10, 2017 at 12:28 AM
nuclearjock
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · Nikon 200-500 Just Not Sharp.


I shoot small birds at 30-50 feet and my copy is tack sharp on my D500 and D810 with no AFT. I don't shoot distances beyond that so have never checked. For $1300, I'm a happy camper. If it's soft at 100 feet, I'm still happy. different strokes for different folks


Mar 10, 2017 at 02:13 AM
Pixphatic
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · Nikon 200-500 Just Not Sharp.


Also the EXIF shows '350mm (35mm equivalent: 700mm)' .... instead of 350*1.5 = 525..
should that mean, 1.3 X crop option was implemented...??
So alongwith the already high ISO, high F-stop, that might have a negative role to play.





Mar 10, 2017 at 10:26 AM
bs kite
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · Nikon 200-500 Just Not Sharp.


Hi D5100 Dude

Are those newly posted eagle shots.... new images; i.e. shots taken since last here ? If so, you did well to get them. So now you know you can get much closer eagle shots. It seems that one of the big problems with trying to shoot nesting eagles is that their nest is always very high in one of the highest trees in the area. That's the way they like it. So you find yourself looking up at eagles peaking over the edge or shooting the undersides of flying eagles How many fledglings are there? You should get some variety in your shots as the young ones hang around the nest and maybe play some tag. But let's say you don't.

The first and most important ingredient in a good photograph is good light. In the two eagle images you just posted, the light is not that good is it?

The better the light the more exciting the photograph. I found that when photographing wildlife, I cannot force good light. It's either there or it isn't. Sure I can use one of the fresnel-screened flash extenders, but they are more for passerine birds at fairly close range. And they are no fun and not a sure thing anyway. I love strong, very low, direct sunlight.

You need a good break don't you? I think I know how you can get it.

WEATHER REPORT: Here in Maine cloudy weather is often a photographer's problem. So I make the weather report one of my photography tools. I watch it like a hawk. In fact, when I am done writing this I will have a look at tomorrow's weather. I'll be hoping for a high probability of cloudless, direct sunlight. And BTW, I find winter light great because the sun travels a lower arch.

You can probably put yourself on that path so that the eagles fly right over you, again and again.....and so on. And if you get some good sunny days and wait for real low, strong, direct light, you are likely to be able to get some pretty decent Bald Eagle shots right there where you live.

And finally, I wonder if you have the Photographer's Ephemeris software. I will pass it on to you as someone here on FM passed it on to me. I want to say ckcarr....bu not certain. Anyway, thanks to the person who shared the link with me. I use it all the time. I love it.

Here is the link. You are gonna love it. You will be able to see right where the sun is going to rise and set in relation to that nest.

http://app.photoephemeris.com/?ll=16.768800,-3.007300¢er=16.7274,-2.7904&dt=20161114114800%2B0000&z=10&spn=0.44,1.20

Will look forward to seeing more of your eagle shots.



Mar 10, 2017 at 07:37 PM
bs kite
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · Nikon 200-500 Just Not Sharp.


How are you guys seeing he EXIF date? I do not see it. Thanks.

When I wrote the above response I moved the following sentence. Then I somehow deleted it. Here it is:

"I agree with just about everything the others have suggested here."

I especially like the comments (Lance and Lauchlan) about the high f-stop and high ISO. F8 is plenty and is right were I like to sit; i.e. always one stop down from opened. And lately I am beginning to think I am going too high on the ISO.....1250. Seems to me 1250 is the limit for my D500. Too much noise for me. And I still have not learned how to quickly do a good job at handling noise in post.

Lauchlan Toal I believe was making the point that the D610's FX files look better than the D500's DX (cropped) files. And I believe that Arbitrage was making a very similar (or same) point that the FX files look better than the DX files. It is true. I have the D610 too and its files just look better than my D500's. But the D500 blows away the D610 on its ability to AF. I plan on continuing to use my D610 on most other work, until I am able to purchased a pro-grade FX body. Toiling with maybe the old D3S, the D4 or the D810. I just have not gotten there yet.

Just his year I stopped preferring A mode, going to Manual exposure. This is because I have been losing so many strings of images when the action got fast. This from say....very light or very dark animals.

Maybe we will soon see a big improvement in D5100 Dude's eagle images. Looking forward to it



Mar 11, 2017 at 07:08 AM
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